Chapter 72 The Bloody Battle of Shilipu (Part 1)

　　On the ancient official road at Jinjiafan on the western foothills of Mount Lushan stood a bridge called Jinguan Bridge, which today is an ordinary highway bridge on National Highway 105. On the afternoon of July 24, 1938, the main forces of the Potan Detachment and the 106th Division, under the cover of the Japanese 11th Fleet, had completed their landing at Jiujiang. Corps Commander Li Hanhun ordered the 8th Army to block the Potan Detachment and the 106th Division near Shangxia Temple and Yaque Mountain. After a full day of fierce fighting, the left flank of the 8th Army, specifically the 15th Division, suffered heavy casualties and lost its position by the evening of the 24th.　　That night, the Potan Detachment and the 106th Division advanced toward Jiujiang from the southeast, while the Japanese 11th Fleet attacked frontally along the Yangtze River, blockading the waterway and landing special naval forces near the city’s oil refinery and western outskirts. The 128th Division of the 70th Army had collapsed almost immediately upon encountering the 2nd Regiment of the Potan Detachment at Puquan Mountain, exposing the right flank of General Li Jue’s 19th Division to severe pressure. After the Wuhan Defense Campaign, the 128th Division was disbanded, and it